The invention generally relates to wheelchairs, and in particular it relates to a device for securely attaching a manually operated wheelchair to a motorized scooter.
Americans are living longer now than ever before thanks to medical technological advances and increased health awareness. As the population grows older, more and more people are experiencing the often cruel ravages inflicted by the aging process. Senior citizens often suffer from varying degrees of impaired mobility and consequently experience difficulties in getting around. Moreover, impaired mobility is not limited to the elderly. To the contrary, many individuals from all age groups cope with this phenomenon every day on a temporary or permanent basis. These people are routinely confronted with numerous problems that cannot be envisioned, much less fully understood, by the majority of the population that is fortunate enough to have all of their physical faculties intact. Fortunately, manually operated and mechanized wheelchairs are commercially available to those in need.
Manually operated wheelchairs are significantly less expensive than their motorized counterparts and are consequently in much wider use. An elderly or disabled consumer can purchase a manually operated wheelchair for a few hundred dollars but must spend about six thousand to seven thousand dollars to acquire a motorized version. However, certain disadvantages are typically associated with utilizing manually operated wheelchairs. Most notably, the user must expend a lot of physical effort rotating the outside wheels of the device in order to travel from one location to another. Thus, the user generally becomes tired and weary in a relatively short period of time. The user often requires another person to push the wheelchair in which he sits to complete long excursions, an untenable or at least uncomfortable predicament. Hence, there is a pressing need for a method of effectively converting a manually operated wheelchair to an affordable motorized wheelchair by securely attaching it to a scooter. U.S. Pat. No. 3,921,744 to Benoit et al. (“Benoit”) teaches a wheelchair with a detachable drive means. However, a user must exert considerable energy attaching and detaching the drive means to the wheelchair of Benoit. U.S. Pat. No. 4,386,672 to Coker (“Coker”) discloses battery-powered electric drive unit that detachably connects to a conventional wheelchair. However, the drive unit of Coker is highly complex and has little practical utility. U.S. Pat. No. 4,892,166 to Gaffney (“Gaffney”) teaches a device for coupling a front wheel unit of a motorized wheelchair with a rear wheel unit to obtain an assembled motorized wheelchair. However, the device of Gaffney is useless with manually operated wheelchairs. U.S. Pat. No. 5,050,695 to Kleinwolterink (“Kleinwolterink”) discloses a unit that is adapted to easily attach to a conventional wheelchair and convert it to a motorized wheelchair. However, the unit of Kleinwolterink is excessively bulky and very cumbersome. U.S. Pat. No. 5,494,126 to Meeker (“Meeker”) teaches an apparatus and method for attaching a motorized wheel to a manually operated wheelchair. However, the apparatus and method of Meeker are extraordinarily complex and impractical. U.S. Pat. No. 5,826,670 to Nan (“Nan”) discloses a detachable propulsive device for a wheelchair. However, the device of Nan does not provide an area in which the user can rest his feet while riding. U.S. Pat. No. 6,231,283 B1 to Stowers (“Stowers”) teaches an apparatus that anchors a vehicle such as a wheelchair in place. However, the apparatus of Stowers does not transport a wheelchair user from one location to another.
While these devices may be suitable for the particular purposes employed, or for general use, they would not be as suitable for the purposes of the present invention as disclosed hereafter.